There is nothing like a lasagna made with homemade pasta that is so thin you can see through it. The lady at the alimentari told me I should try using the “00” pasta, which is closer to pastry flour than all purpose, and the noodles came out so satiny they were practically purring. That’s just not a perk that Prince from the blue box throws into the deal.
Start with two cups of flour in a bowl. Make a well in the middle. Drop in 2 eggs, 2 Tablespoons of your best olive oil and 3 Tablespoons of water. Beat the eggs together with the liquid until you no longer see any streaks of egg white, without disturbing the flour. Set the fork down, and fold the flour from underneath, working in a circle, on top of the egg to mix. When it is a ball of dough, sprinkle a tiny bit more flour onto the board or table, and knead the dough for five minutes. When it feels like a baby’s bottom, let it rest under a tea towel. Set up your pasta machine. Divide the dough into four parts. Flatten out one part at a time, and run it through the widest setting once. Fold the bit into threes like a business letter. Run it through the machine twice like this on the widest setting, then five more times folded only in half. Then, without anymore folding, run it through the machine, changing the setting each time, until you get to the desired thickness. Layer with meat sauce, white sauce and Parmesan, until you have three layers, finishing with Parmesan. Cover tightly with foil and bake at 350 degrees for half an hour. Uncover and bake for another five minutes. Remove from the oven and let sit for at least fifteen minutes before serving.
It is sunny again and the group is off to Deruta to see if they can set a record.